"They called several physics professors, and they basically made an infographic showing its possible, that if you have enough power…well, if you have a very fat Serbian tourist, you know, this would work."

A couple of Australian blogs even named the fake Dragan Stevic "Man of the Year." For real.

And then the real story of the fake story got outed.

Still, the NJUZ newsroom had a good laugh, although Nikolic admits it was nervous one.

"You start thinking about how easily you can manipulate the press on the world stage. With the shark, it showed it was a trend."

Nikolic blames the speed with which journalists have to work in the Internet age. Everyone wants to get the craziest story first, he says, in order to get all the advertising clicks. Fact-checking, proper translation – it all goes out the window.

The work we do has never been more important — whether it’s because of “news” that might not be news at all or healing the deep divides in our country. Now more than ever, we need conversation, perspective and diverse voices. Will you support PRI in our efforts to create a more informed empathetic world?